The Odyssey

The Odyssey is Homer's epic of homecoming – the ten-year voyage of Odysseus back from Troy, through monsters, gods and the lure of the sea – published here in Alexander Pope's celebrated verse translation.

After the fall of Troy, the hero Odysseus sets sail for his island kingdom of Ithaca, but a single journey becomes a ten-year ordeal of shipwreck, enchantment, and divine wrath, while at home his wife Penelope holds off the suitors scheming to seize his throne. Composed in ancient Greece and traditionally ascribed to Homer, The Odyssey is the foundational epic of Western literature, a tale of cunning, endurance, and the longing for home. Three thousand years on, it remains one of the best adventure stories ever told.

This Wine Dark Press edition presents the heroic saga in Alexander Pope's acclaimed verse translation, published between 1725 and 1726. Pope's version keeps the metre, the music, and the grandeur of Homer's ancient Greek poem in its truest form. Gathered here with a selection of accompanying writings, this beautiful edition is perfect for those seeking the story as it was first told, designed to be read and returned to over a lifetime.